Chapter Sixteen: The Lotus Pedestal

With a swish, Zhao Fifteen’s sword slashed toward the female ghost who was steadily making her way to the Cave of Nether Qi. Instantly, countless vortices shattered. The nine sinister embryos that had been voraciously devouring the surrounding evil energy began to emit wailing cries—so harsh and grating that I was forced to clamp my hands over my ears.

“Old Zhao, get back here!” the Priestess shouted, striding forward.

But Zhao Fifteen only managed a bitter smile. Gripping the Sword of Coin tightly in one hand, he traced a talisman in the air with the other.

“Break!”

No sooner had the word left his lips than a ghostly, shadowy hand seized the Sword of Coin. Hissing sounds filled the air as the black specter was repeatedly pierced by the sword’s radiance, yet the blade itself was turning ever darker. Zhao Fifteen had no choice but to release his grip and stagger backward.

At that very moment, the Priestess flashed forward, striking out with her palm at the pursuing spectral hand. With a muffled boom, the entire space seemed to tremble.

“A mere minor demon dares meddle in my grand design?” spat the female ghost. By now, the nine sinister embryos had fully merged into her form. In that dim, sepulchral light, the once fearsome, grotesque statue of the Buddha burst into wild laughter—a sight I took in with perfect clarity.

“This is bad. Someone has laid a trap here long ago!” the Priestess exclaimed, retreating rapidly and seizing me to pull me along with her.

“Trying to escape? At a time like this, none of you will leave. I need to refine one of my treasures from life, and for that, I require vast amounts of vital energy. You will serve nicely,” the female ghost declared.

As she spoke, a blue lotus dais materialized between her brows. It looked strange; not at all menacing or sinister, more akin to a Buddhist lotus pedestal than anything evil.

The moment the lotus floated from the ghost’s forehead, the Priestess’s face changed dramatically. “Old Zhao, what have you provoked? This is an Ancient Buddha Lotus, imbued with enormous power. Not even the elite of Canglong Mountain could contend with it. We must leave at once!”

“Heaven and Earth Dao, Escape Unseen!”

The Priestess swiftly formed a mudra and stamped hard on the ground. Instantly, the ground beneath me gave way, and grabbing Chen Chuyi, I plunged into a vast chasm.

“Return to me!” the female ghost’s voice rasped, terrifying and hoarse. As I plummeted, weightless, there was a sudden blur before my eyes. When I opened them again, I found myself exactly where I had started. Zhao Fifteen was now paralyzed, and the Priestess had been forced back into her crystal sphere.

As soon as I regained my senses, I saw the female ghost watching me with great interest. Her face was exquisitely beautiful, and the blue lotus at her brow now enveloped her entire form. Though she had no corporeal body, the light of the lotus cast her in an ethereal glow, with faint Buddhist chants echoing around her. I couldn’t tear my eyes away.

“Snap out of it, Xiao Dong! Hold fast to your heart!” Zhao Fifteen’s voice jolted me just as I was about to take a step. I bit my tongue hard, regaining my clarity.

“Yang Dong, don’t you want to know about Su Ying? If you give me a little of your blood, I’ll tell you. I could even accompany you to find her,” the female ghost coaxed.

Su Ying?

Suddenly, her image appeared before me—just as beautiful as she had been at school, though now she seemed a little wan, still wearing the dress from the day we parted. This must be an illusion—it had to be!

I kept reminding myself. Yet, as I tried to close my eyes, I noticed the bracelet on Su Ying’s wrist—the one I had given her, the one we’d made promises over. I had the white one; hers was blue.

“Xiao Dong, if I told you I was no longer human, would you still love me as you once did?” Her familiar voice was almost impossible to resist.

In truth, I had never forgotten Su Ying. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have followed her so heedlessly onto the Ghost Road weeks ago. I knew from the start that our fates were being manipulated by an unseen hand. Who was it they wanted to lure out? The one who had set the Blood Formation in my body?

“Xiao Dong, do you remember this place?” Su Ying’s voice shifted our surroundings in a blur—train stations, roads, shops, cinemas…

Everywhere we had once been together. Yet all these memories were now buried deep in the forbidden recesses of my mind, places I refused to revisit.

If not for what happened months ago, I might still be working at my old job, leading an ordinary life, maybe even marrying one of my older colleagues. Life would have gone on, unremarkable and steady.

But now everything had changed. Ever since I learned of Su Ying’s death, I’d been desperate to know her fate. On the Ghost Road, she was captured by a great ghost while helping me escape. Scene after scene replayed in my mind.

A hand seemed to stir my heart, filling me with a fierce longing to know where Su Ying was.

“Xiao Dong, have you truly forgotten everything we shared? I’m in such agony. I’m imprisoned. They have stolen my very soul and torment me daily. I’m afraid I won’t last much longer!” she cried. “I just wanted you to live well. Have you forgotten what I told you on our wedding day? I have never once harmed you…”

Standing before me, Su Ying’s face was streaked with tears as she recounted our countless memories. I was shaken—she mentioned things only the two of us could know, words we’d spoken on our wedding day. Looking at her, I suddenly remembered what Chen Chuyi had once said: Su Ying had been watching over me all these years, though I had never known.

Could it be?

“Xiao Dong, will you take me with you?” Su Ying pleaded, reaching out her hand.

Her hand was as slender and graceful as ever, just as I remembered from high school.

In that instant, all of my memories with her flooded my mind, and tears streamed down my face.

Even knowing I was trapped in an illusion, I couldn’t bear to see her in pain, couldn’t stand her loneliness and fear.

Slowly, I reached out my hand…